US trade deficit jumps 4.8% to record $71.1 billion in February

The US trade deficit grew to a record USD 71.1 billion in February as a decline in exports more than offset a slight dip in imports.

The February gap between what America buys from abroad compared to what it sells abroad jumped 4.8 per cent above the revised January deficit of USD 67.8 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The increase reflected a 2.6 per cent decline in exports of goods and services to USD 187.3 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis. That wiped out a 0.7 per cent decline in imports, which ticked down from January's record high of USD 260.1 billion.

The February goods deficit of USD 87.1 billion was also the highest on record.

The year-to-date trade deficit after two months of 2021 is USD 138.9 billion, more than 68 per cent higher than the USD 82.4 billion for January and February of 2020.

The goods deficit with China grew 11.4 per cent from January to USD 30.3 billion in February, while the goods deficit with Mexico shrank 42.9 per cent from USD 11.9 billion to USD 6.8 billion.